Regulators approve Maine elver quota

Meeting in Norfolk, Va., on Oct. 17, the American Eel Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission authorized Maine harvesters to land up to 9,688 pounds of elvers during the upcoming 2018 fishing season. That is the same quota the fishery has operated under for the past three years.

They also initiated an addendum to consider alternative allocations, management triggers and coastwide caps relative to the current management program for both the yellow and glass eel commercial fisheries starting with the 2019 fishing season.

Back in 2014, for the first time, the ASMFC established a quota for Maine’s glass eel (elver) landings. The quota governed the 2015 through 2017 fishing seasons. The regulators agreed to review that quota allocation before the 2018 season.